Mini Story, Photo Prompt, Writing Prompts

Cursed

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
This is where the prompt took me.

© Lily

Marcia unwrapped the Christmas gift. “Oh,” she said. The keys. The chains. The flowers. “It’s… its…”

“Hideous,” offered Phil.

The in-laws meant well… always did.

For almost a year it lived behind the water heater. Then the Richardsons bought the Victorian on Elm Street.

“Perfect housewarming gift,” Marcia whispered, rewrapping it lovingly.

The Richardsons passed it to the Simons. The Simons, without hesitation, gave it to the Quigleys. The Quigleys practically ran it to the Delgados.

Fourteen special occasions. Fourteen identical expressions of barely concealed horror.

No one ever hung the chandelier.

Everyone kept the gift receipt… just in case.

Image by Me & Gemini

NAR©2026
100 Words

This is “Keep Your Cheap-Ass Christmas Gift Because I Don’t Need It” by Mavis Jackson

24 April 2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

69 thoughts on “Cursed”

  3. Dear Nancy,

    This is hilarious. And the song is perfect.

    Back in the day, my in-laws did a lot of traveling. They always bought their kids souvenirs. Ashtrays from Florida and the like. Jan hasn’t picked up a cigarette since 1976 and I never smoked.

    Love what you did with the graphic. I can see that being rushed from one recipient to the next.

    thank you for the yucks. 😀

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. Dear Rochelle, I have a friend who was reluctant to give away or toss out unwanted, unattractive gifts. The first one she received was placed in her backyard; it wasn’t terribly obtrusive and hardly noticeable, but she kept putting her unwanted things in the yard until it eventually resembled a small junkyard! When she decided to put her house on the market, she didn’t remove any of the items from the backyard and she had a devil of a time selling the house. She eventually did sell and the new owners immediately put the entire collection of backyard gifts in a dumpster on the driveway! The saying is true – “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I’m so glad you enjoyed my story. Thanks very much for your great comments.

      Shalom

      🕊️

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  6. You really do find the right songs to pair with your fiction – and that humor song was so funny – and the save the receipt ending was perfect (and we regift often – but I tell folks it was a regift)

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    1. I regift too, but I don’t always admit it; it depends on who’s getting the regift. 😀 Thanks so much for commenting on my songs, Yvette. I love music and it’s really important to me. It’s also half the fun when preparing a post. I greatly appreciate your great comments. 😌

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      1. In the last few years, we have told people to stop buying us stuff – most are starting to honor that – but not all – and the whole idea of gift giving is truly layered – and you know Nancy, I think I could write a book about it because giving gifts is one of my “love languages or acts of service” AND I have had to find balance with it over the years – timing, type of gift, how delivered, setting, etc – and even though I have pulled way back – I have seen the smallest of gifts soften or transform someone and so I really just let God lead me and try not to overthink it.
        —
        cheers to you and wishing you a great week

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  13. Great piece of reality. As a wedding present my wife and I were given a dinner service set, it came in a tatty cardboard box that had clearly shown how it was passed down the ages. Inside, I discovered a gift card at the bottom with the original receivers name. Also a wedding gift.

    Sorry, but I broke the recycle gifting rule in our family and presented it to a charity shop. I would not be surprised if it resurfaced again in my direction!

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    1. What a funny story and a great comment, James! I’m sure it happens more often than we realize. Karma has a way of biting us in the butt and I wouldn’t be surprised if that dinner service set does find its way back to you. Thanks for an outstanding comment.

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    1. Yes, we do! I had someone give me a vase that had a design on the front that was bordering on the obscene. I don’t think it was intended to look that way, but once you saw it, you couldn’t un-see it. That vase made the rounds as a Christmas re-gift for years and became a running joke. Thanks, Tiffany.

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        1. You’re welcome 😊 I heard something funny at a recent ‘garage sale’ held by a popular charity shop (we call them opshops)
          A volunteer was sorting clothing for shoppers and held up a t-shirt. She said ‘this shirt has been at the last 3 garage sales (clearing summer clothes, ready for winter stock) it keeps getting donated back! A few of us laughed out loud! So that teeshirt has done the rounds 3 years running! The volunteer bought it before anyone else could 😊

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            1. It was a corny kids design with cartoonish characters on it and some words…I think it said’ who on earth would let a wombat? ( a cricket theme…wombat….) 🤷‍♀️ a lady nearby didn’t get the joke so I explained it…she groaned then we all laughed. it was a funny moment amidst a mountain of donated clothes! I’ll have to write a story about it with my Martha as MC. She’ll have a lot of fun with it 😉

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  18. My brother and his wife sent my wife and I the most useless Christmas gifts every year (hat with a fan on it, shower radio that died after two weeks), so my wife and I started looking for the most ridiculous gifts to give back to them.

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    1. I love that, Jim! We actually had a similar experience. This story is loosely based on two experiences in my life. One of our friends gave us the ugliest vase for Christmas one a year and the following year we wrapped it up nicely and gave it back to him. That became a tradition for a few years. The other incident is a big coincidence. When we moved into our current house, there was a small chandelier hanging in the dining room that looked very much like this one. It was a definite conversation piece, but it really was an eye sore and we soon replaced it. I think it’s still up in the attic!

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